33rd Street station (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)

33 Street
33 Street
New York City Subway station (rapid transit)
	Downtown platform with Arts for Transit artwork on the columns
Station statistics
Address	East 33rd Street & Park Avenue; New York, NY 10016
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Murray Hill, Kips Bay
Coordinates	40°44′47″N 73°58′55″W / 40.74639°N 73.98194°W
Division	A (IRT)
Line	IRT Lexington Avenue Line
Services	4 (late nights); 6 (all times) <6> (weekdays until 8:45 p.m., peak direction)
Transit	NYCT Bus: M34 SBS, M34A SBS; MTA Bus: BxM1
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2 side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	October 27, 1904 (119 years ago)
Opposite-; direction; transfer	No
Traffic
2023	5,666,586 16.8%
Rank	40 out of 423
Station succession
Next north	Template:NYCS next; Template:NYCS next
Next south	Template:NYCS next
Location
Street map
Station service legend
Symbol	Description
	Stops all times
	Stops late nights only
	Stops rush hours in the peak direction only
	33rd Street Subway Station (IRT)
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	New York City Landmark No. 1096
MPS	New York City Subway System MPS
NRHP reference No.	04001014
NYCL No.	1096
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	September 17, 2004
Designated NYCL	November 24, 1981

33rd Street is a local station on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of Park Avenue and 33rd Street in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, it is served by 6 trains at all times, <6> trains during weekdays in the peak direction, and 4 trains during late night hours.

History

Track layout

Legend

					to 42 St






					to 28 St

Construction started on the first IRT line in 1900.^[7]^{: 162–191} The part of the line from City Hall to just south of 42nd Street was part of the original IRT line, opened on October 27, 1904 including a local station at 33rd Street.^[2]

On April 13, 1948, the platform extensions to accommodate ten-car trains at this station along with those at 23rd Street, and 28th Street were opened for use.^[8]

On December 27, 1948, a new entrance to the station at 32nd Street opened for use.^[8]

Express stop proposals

It has been proposed several times–by the IRT and members of the public–that this station be rebuilt as an express stop to reduce overcrowding at the Grand Central–42nd Street station one stop to the north. It was estimated that the extra time spent by express trains at 33rd Street would be offset by the reduced dwell times at Grand Central.^[9]^[10]

Station layout

Ground	Street level	Entrances/exits
Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← toward Pelham Bay Park or Parkchester (Grand Central–42nd Street) ← toward Woodlawn late nights (Grand Central–42nd Street)
	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ toward Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall (28th Street) → → toward New Lots Avenue late nights (28th Street) →
	Side platform

There are four tracks and two side platforms, with the express tracks in the middle. The express tracks stay level, while the local tracks slowly incline from south to north to allow for the easier deceleration of local trains.^[11] This results in a layout similar to Houston Street on the IRT Broadway-Seventh Avenue Line, the express tracks are at a lower elevation than the local tracks in the northern half of the station. North of the station, the two pairs of tracks in each direction separate into different tunnels because of the presence of the Murray Hill Tunnel, which runs under the center of this section of Park Avenue. The station was renovated in the late 1990s or early 2000s, and contains eagle plaques similar to those at Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall. The plaques contain the numerals "33". Fare control is at the platform level. The station has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2004.^[4]

33rd St to 34th St subway cross-section
11th Av	10th & 9th Avs are skipped	Farley Building & Moynihan Train Hall		8th Av	Madison Square Garden	7th Av	Storefronts	6th Av & Broadway		5th & Madison Avs are skipped	Park Av
mezzanine		train hall		A / C / E	concourse	1 / 2 / 3	Former Gimbel's passageway	mezz	PATH		6 / <6>
mezzanine			conc	mezzanine	concourse	mezzanine		N / Q / R / W
7 / <7>		Penn Station (Platform Level)						B/D/F/<F>/M

Exits

Exit location^[12]	Number of exits	Platform served
NW corner of Park Avenue and 33rd Street	1	Southbound
SW corner of Park Avenue and 33rd Street	1	Southbound
NE corner of Park Avenue and 33rd Street	1	Northbound
SE corner of Park Avenue and 33rd Street	1	Northbound
SE corner of Park Avenue S and 32nd Street	2	Northbound
SW corner of Park Avenue S and 32nd Street	2	Southbound

Image gallery

Faience plaque by Heins & LaFarge / Grueby Faience Company, 1904.
Tile name tablet by Heins & LaFarge / John H. Parry Co., 1904.
The unique fare control ironwork and Art for Transit installation on the columns
Southbound street stairs
33rd Street station in 1905

References

^ "Glossary". Second Avenue Subway Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) (PDF). Vol. 1. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 4, 2003. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Our Subway Open: 150,000 Try It; Mayor McClellan Runs the First Official Train". The New York Times. October 28, 1904. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
^ ^a ^b "NPS Focus". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved November 6, 2011.
^ "Interborough Rapid Transit System, Underground Interior" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. November 24, 1981. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
^ "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
^ Walker, James Blaine (1918). Fifty Years of Rapid Transit — 1864 to 1917. New York, N.Y.: Law Printing. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
^ ^a ^b Report for the three and one-half years ending June 30, 1949. New York City Board of Transportation. 1949. hdl:2027/mdp.39015023094926.
^ Supreme Court Appellate Division-Second Department. pp. 458–460.
^ ERA Headlights. Electric Railroaders Association. 1956.
^ Lavis, Fred (1914). "The New York Rapid Transit Railway Extensions". nycsubway.org. Engineering News. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
^ "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Union Square / Gramercy" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015.

External links

nycsubway.org – IRT East Side Line: 33rd Street
Station Reporter — 4 Train
Station Reporter — 6 Train
Forgotten NY — Original 28 - NYC's First 28 Subway Stations
MTA's Arts For Transit — 33rd Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
32nd Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
33rd Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
downtown platform from Google Maps Street View

[SASDEIS-DIVISION-1] "Glossary". Second Avenue Subway Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) (PDF). Vol. 1. Metropolitan Transportation Authority. March 4, 2003. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 26, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.

[145th-2] "Our Subway Open: 150,000 Try It; Mayor McClellan Runs the First Official Train". The New York Times. October 28, 1904. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 21, 2020.

[riderref-3] "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.

[focus-4] "NPS Focus". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved November 6, 2011.

[NYCL-1096-5] "Interborough Rapid Transit System, Underground Interior" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. November 24, 1981. Retrieved 2019-11-19.

[6] "Annual Subway Ridership (2018–2023)". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2023. Retrieved April 20, 2024.

[:1-7] Walker, James Blaine (1918). Fifty Years of Rapid Transit — 1864 to 1917. New York, N.Y.: Law Printing. Retrieved November 6, 2016.

[BOT-1949-8] Report for the three and one-half years ending June 30, 1949. New York City Board of Transportation. 1949. hdl:2027/mdp.39015023094926.

[9] Supreme Court Appellate Division-Second Department. pp. 458–460.

[10] ERA Headlights. Electric Railroaders Association. 1956.

[11] Lavis, Fred (1914). "The New York Rapid Transit Railway Extensions". nycsubway.org. Engineering News. Retrieved May 31, 2018.

[maps-12] "MTA Neighborhood Maps: Union Square / Gramercy" (PDF). Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

v t e Stations of the New York City Subway, by service
Lexington Avenue Local	Pelham Bay Park Buhre Avenue Middletown Road Westchester Square–East Tremont Avenue Zerega Avenue Castle Hill Avenue Parkchester St. Lawrence Avenue Morrison Avenue–Soundview Elder Avenue Whitlock Avenue Hunts Point Avenue Longwood Avenue East 149th Street East 143rd Street–St. Mary's Street Cypress Avenue Brook Avenue Third Avenue–138th Street 125th Street 116th Street 110th Street 103rd Street 96th Street 86th Street 77th Street 68th Street–Hunter College 59th Street 51st Street Grand Central–42nd Street 33rd Street 28th Street 23rd Street 14th Street–Union Square Astor Place Bleecker Street Spring Street Canal Street Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall
Pelham Bay Park Express	Pelham Bay Park Buhre Avenue Middletown Road Westchester Square–East Tremont Avenue Zerega Avenue Castle Hill Avenue Parkchester Hunts Point Avenue Third Avenue–138th Street 125th Street 116th Street 110th Street 103rd Street 96th Street 86th Street 77th Street 68th Street–Hunter College 59th Street 51st Street Grand Central–42nd Street 33rd Street 28th Street 23rd Street 14th Street–Union Square Astor Place Bleecker Street Spring Street Canal Street Brooklyn Bridge–City Hall
See also Lists by borough (The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens) Accessible Closed Terminals Transfer Commons category Note: Service variations, station closures, and reroutes are not reflected here. Stations with asterisks have no regular peak, reverse peak, or midday service on that route. See linked articles for more information.

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in New York
Topics	Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types
Lists by county	Albany Allegany Bronx Broome Cattaraugus Cayuga Chautauqua Chemung Chenango Clinton Columbia Cortland Delaware Dutchess Erie Essex Franklin Fulton Genesee Greene Hamilton Herkimer Jefferson Kings (Brooklyn) Lewis Livingston Madison Monroe Montgomery Nassau New York (Manhattan) Niagara Oneida Onondaga Ontario Orange Orleans Oswego Otsego Putnam Queens Rensselaer Richmond (Staten Island) Rockland Saratoga Schenectady Schoharie Schuyler Seneca St. Lawrence Steuben Suffolk Sullivan Tioga Tompkins Ulster Warren Washington Wayne Westchester Northern Southern Wyoming Yates
Lists by city	Albany Buffalo New Rochelle New York City Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Manhattan Below 14th St. 14th–59th St. 59th–110th St. Above 110th St. Minor islands Niagara Falls Peekskill Poughkeepsie Rhinebeck Rochester Syracuse Yonkers
Other lists	Bridges and tunnels National Historic Landmarks
Category List National Register of Historic Places Portal